If you're an indie retailer, you know the struggles we face - competition, costs, and playing field slanted against us. The goal of this blog is to slant the field a little bit back in our direction.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Sometimes You Have to Tear it Down

They are tearing down the hotel across the street. We have a front-row seat for the destruction as a crane takes it down piece by piece.

This is not the first hotel to be torn down in that general vicinity. I watched the previous one be exploded and dropped to the ground. Yes, two large hotels have been built, abandoned, and torn down in the same area in my life.

I guess this blog could be about location, location, location. But you already know that story.

The lesson that struck me driving past this building this morning was how progress and change often require some deconstruction first before you can construct something new.

Too often, we feel like the only approach to growth is to tweak around the edges. Radical changes are dangerous, risky. So we make minor changes, which have minor effects. But if you need major things to happen in your business, you need to make major changes. Or as Thomas Jefferson put it...

"If you want something you've never had, you have to do something you've never done."

That might mean tearing something down. You can tear things down physically such as a wall or a display or an office or a bathroom to make a better version. You can also tear things down metaphorically such as your return policy, your dress code, your product selection, or your advertising.

The key is to remember that the tearing down, while messy, is necessary for progress.

PS One of the biggest deconstruction/reconstruction projects can be your staff. Having the right people in the right jobs is the most important thing you can do for your business. If that means firing key people and starting over, do it! Yes, it will be messy in the short term, but the reconstruction will be better than the original.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Follow by Email

Subscribe Now

Search This Blog

Phil Wrzesinski

A Little About Me

I am an independent retailer. There. I said it. There is no twelve-step group for crazy people like us. We have to help each other. Fortunately, that's my favorite thing to do.

I have a simple mantra - Have fun helping others! That's why I'm here. I'm taking everything I'm learning about retail and sharing it with you.

I am a lifelong learner, always wanting to expand my horizons. I love deep conversations. I love people who challenge me with smart, well-organized thoughts and arguments and ideas. I love to look at how people act and react and interact with others.

If you also love to learn and grow and have some fun along the way, I'm pretty sure we'll get along well and enjoy this journey together.